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Thank you Phil :-)
I really would hate to leave this site
But I would point out that the errors do not all happen during times of heavy usage of the servers
............... I'm on here for varying lengths of time during the period from about 8 pm UK time to 6 or 7 am UK time.
Most of the errors and OOPS that I get are actually between midnight and early morning (say 5 to 6 am).
There's not that many of us around on the Boards at that time!
sylvia
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Sylvia,
The issue is not just a question the number of users that are logged on to the system but rather the sheer amount of data that has to be processed to satisfy a particular user request. The problem can just as easily happen with just one user logged in.
This is why GR can't replicate the problem in their testing. There simply is not enough volume of data in their test environment to cause the error to kick in.
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IGP
I agree that the sheer amount of data to be processed is responsible for heavy usage of the server(s)
However, I do know that most of the people I see around on the Boards overnight are NOT using this site to do searches using the Records, Tree searches, etc.
We're using other sites in order to help people who have been unable to find information.
I have, of course, no idea how many overseas members or insomniacs are working on ttheir trees overnight, and would not even hazard a guess.
I, for one, have almost never used the Records section of GR ............. I've looked by using the ability to search for free, yes, but never succeeded in seeing anything that encouraged me to spend more money to investigate further.
So ....................... I very seriously doubt that the "heavy usage" as described by you applies at 1, 2 or 3 am in the morning.
You should get up some night, and see what goes on at those hours, how many people are around, etc.
I am not telling a lie when I say that I usually see less than 20 people posting on the Boards during the whole period, 30 is a busy night! I could give you the names of about 10 of them ....... we "meet" regularly :-)
I can tell you when the East Coast Americans will be on and when they will disappear, when the Australians and NZ's will start posting, and when the early risers in the UK will appear.
Unless, that is, GR itself uses the servers at those hours. In which case, I respectfully suggest that they need to buy better, larger servers.
I don't pretend to know as much as you obviously do about computers, programming, etc etc, largely becauser I am not, and never have been, interested in that aspect
............................. but I have been an end-user of computers since 1971, and do have a lot of commonsense knowledge about what end-users require.
In fact, if I am brutally honest with you ...................... I was originally trained in how to collect information to be analysed on computers, and how to input it, in 1963/64, which is, I think, way before most other people.
All I do know is that this site is not performing to expectations, that other sites are performing above and beyond expectations
......... and what is most galling, is that many of those other sites are free.
I am rapidly coming to the belief that what this site needs is complete dismantling, and resurrecting using new servers, and brand-new programs ......... that a lot of the problems have been caused by attempting to build on the old original programs written in 2002 and 2003
And that of course cannot be done, as you cannot get rid of all the trees that people have on here.
Did you know that some people have suggested that you actually work for GR??
Rationales ............... you seem to know so much about how GR's inner circles work; and you always apologise for them. Plus, you never seem to suffer any of the problems that the rest of us have.
I'm sure they are wrong :-D
sylvia
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I have no idea how this site works or my computer for that matter so previous posts have flown right over my head :-S
However it seems that I have not had the site problems as mentioned...yes I received some error messages and I was logged out a couple of times but that was it.
I have to say that the site has been no problem for me over the past few days receiving only one error message.
There I go tempting fate :-D
Linda
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fingers crossed for you, Linda! :-D
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As I said earlier, the problems are not simply caused by the no of users using the system at any one time. It is the ever growing size of the database that is the real issue.
Most errors are time-out messages because the action you have requested has taken too long to process the data. Each task is allocated a finite processing resource so even if you are the only user in the world logged in at that second in time it will still error. Ironic really, given that the rest of the system may be sitting there doing absolutely nothing......!
Sylvia has actually hit on the problem when she said:-
"I do NOT click on that last page in the More Pages drop down. That almost always fails, especially on long threads. Instead I click on the 10 page sequence 2 or 3 before the one I want. That almost always works. Then I move from there to the page I do want to see."
"especially on long threads..." that it the key to it....too much data for the system to handle with the resource that has been allocated to it.
I get the same problem if I try to sort and select pages in Surname Summary. Again, it is the amount of data being crunched causing the time out - my tree has 14k names - a tree with 4k names probably doesn't even cause a blink.
Increasing server power can help short term, but usually the only way to solve it once and for all is to re-work certain programs to make them more efficient, which is what Phil's team appear to have been tasked with.
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Sylvia,
Rather than trying to select pages, try clicking on Post Date instead. This will display the entire thread in reverse order. The fact that this method is much faster and rarely times out tend to indicate it is a more efficient process.
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" i don't mind stroppy at all. Its been happening for far too long and needs to be sorted out."
- yep ;-)
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IGP
I just do not happen to WANT to have Last Post showing first
That may be very strange of me, and against your principles
.............. but I do not want to do it.
Plus the fact is, that it is the default position of GR to have First Post showing, so they obviously preferred it
........... especially as it is the reverse default position from their sister site (and the first one to be set up!), Friends Reunited.
If that is the case, then there is even more reason to expect it to work.
As for long threads ...................... what are you suggesting? That long threads be done away with?
There have been extremely long threads on this site since I joined in 2003/4 ... especially on General Chat. I believe you used to participate a lot on the threads, although now you seem to spend your time telling the rest of us how wrong we are in what we say about GR.
sylvia
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Keep getting "Error" and its much slower this evening:(
jude
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New Message from Phil on Announcements.
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And a useful thread whooshed again; have requested its restoration again :-| :-( :-|
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And this morning, despite the fact I was already on the boards, went to add to a thread and had to sign in again :-S :-S
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If the site has a 'function' and that function has a tab/button to click on.....it should work!
Paying customers shouldnt have to try and work out an alternative way to make the site work for them!
GB is right....this site is a joke and no, it's not at all funny
Member activity has decreased so much over the last year or so, if I can see that, then why cant GR!
People will not pay for a site that doesnt work
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I decided to be patient and wait, and what a wait it was :-S
Three messages awaiting me - eventually I managed to open and read one, eventually my reply was sent. I shall attempt to read the others later if the site speeds up from frustratingly ridiculously slow.
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it seems to be working OK for me at the moment
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Clicked on genealogy chat - sent to suggestions :-S
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Had two new messages in my Inbox last night but no notification from GR
I ended up on FR Dating last night
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I had forgotten to mention that, for several days now, there have been new messages in my Inbox but no notification from GR.
You didn't really want FR Dating, did you, Maureen? :)
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